Dizzee Rascal said he now "gets" pop music.
The rapper said after his first three albums he finally understood how to make pop records with his latest, 'Tongue N' Cheek', and plucked up the courage to make party music rather than sticking to his grime and hip hop background.
He told Clash magazine: "I get pop music now. I get what a pop format is, to be up with there with the greats and the best. I don't think I really knew how to do it when I started out because the environment that I was competing for was the underground pirate radio scene."
"I accept it now. I walk down the street and think, 'F**k it, man, whatever'. It's lovely. It's nice to know that I can make music for all sorts of people. That was kind of my goal."
The 24-year-old rapper added although he has only just embraced pop music, his career has always seen him work close to both pop and hip-hop stars.
Dizzee - real name Dylan Mills - added: "People think the whole pop thing is new to me. But I toured with Justin Timberlake when I was nineteen. I did a track with Basement Jaxx around the same time, as well as supporting Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jay-Z, Nas, Sean Paul. I've been exposed to a lot of the biggest things going."